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Denis Castellanos and Ava Jones crowned Pan Am barebow champions

28 June 2026

Tlaxcala, Mexico

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The Argentinian Denis Esteban Castellanos won the men’s barebow title at the Tlaxcala 2026 Pan American Championships, beating the USA’s Michael Weaver 7-3.

Castellanos was by far the most consistent man on the finals stage, coming through his semifinal against Marcus Cooley 7-1 with a crisp display on Saturday afternoon in Tlaxcala. The 39-year-old is relatively new to the sport, but made an impact this year with a gold medal at the Santiago 2026 Grand Prix of the Americas.

On the women‘s side, the 18-year-old Ava Jones took her first major international title, beating defending champion Johana Cindy Czako 7-3 on the stage.

All four athletes on the women‘s side of the board were from the USA, and Czako showed the level of consistency that gained her the title at the 2024 Pan American Championships.

But Jones, already a multiple world record holder at under-21 level, clearly had a performance edge over the rest of the women’s field, producing ends of 30 and 29 in the final.

The barebow finals were preceded on Saturday by the mixed team medal matches in both compound and recurve.

The USA's formidable compound frontline took another gold medal, as the mixed team of Alexis Ruiz and James Lutz had too much for the Guatemalan pair of Danica Fránces Barrera Arana and Julio Alfredo Barillas Aragon, leading from the front and winning 157-154 on the finals stage.

It was a title defence for the USA, who won in 2024 with the pairing of Ruiz and Isaac Sullivan.

Recurve mixed team also saw the USA in action, but the pairing of Jennifer Mucino and Brady Ellison, after taking the first set with a 39, could not find a groove against Matias Grande and Alejandra Valencia, who delivered what was needed in front of a home crowd and gave Mexico its second gold of the tournament.

It was, extraordinarily, Valencia’s seventh Pan Am Championships gold and her 13th medal overall, the first one won 16 years ago in Guadalajara. “Hearing everyone shouting, getting excited, and singing the national anthem—that was really emotional.” said Valencia afterwards.

“Plus, there is the work we’ve been doing together, and it’s a great motivator because those of us who were in this final are surely the ones who will be at the Pan American Games as well,” she added.

Both Grande and Ellison return to action in the individual competition on Sunday, where Grande has a chance to defend his title from Medellin 2024.

The competition continues with individual finals on Sunday. You can watch the action from Tlaxcala with a subscription to archery+.